Free Contingent by Livia Jamerlan

players ran up and down the court. The game toned down the thoughts in my head. By the fourth whiskey, the game helped it all became a blur . . .
    Until Taylor began to speak again.
    “Oh, shit! Isn’t that Braelynn?” The sound of her name had me on alert. I snapped my head up and looked at the empty doorway, but Taylor was tapping my arm and pointing at the screen. “Dude, right there.”
    The slow action instant replay showed which team had thrown the ball out of bounds. I couldn’t see the guy who had blocked her from getting hit, but the camera stayed locked on them until the ball was thrown back in. I picked her out of the crowd, her smile bright as she leaned into the shoulder of the man beside her. She knew who he was. But the basketball player’s large body blocked him from the camera.
    My eyes were glued to the screen, even after the play resumed. “Do you know who she was with?” I asked Taylor.
    “Nah, I didn’t get a good look at his face, but to get court-side seats he has to be someone with power or money.”
    I took a hundred-dollar bill from my wallet and tossed it on the counter. Without another word, I left the bar. Taylor shouted for me, but I didn’t look back.

    Louis had parked the car a few steps from her front door. I’d asked him to give me some time. It had been well over an hour since the game ended and she still hadn’t come home. I was beginning to lose my patience when a Mercedes pulled up at her front door. I watched through the back window as the black sedan was put in park and its hazard lights began to blink. She stepped out of the car and the driver’s door swung open. It was dark and I was parked far enough away that I couldn’t see his face.
    Was she dating someone?
    I didn’t let my mind wander for long. I couldn’t complain or object considering what I had done to her without a simple explanation. But still . . .
    She was mine and I would never share her with anyone.
    The tall man trailed behind her to her door. Braelynn repeatedly brushed her fingers through her hair as they spoke. She was nervous. I knew every glance and every nervous tick she had. He stood mere inches in front of her. She stared down at her hand, which I assumed held her keys. She didn’t want him to come in. Or that’s what I kept telling myself.
    She was on a date and like a stalker I was parked in a car, watching her.
    They spoke for a few minutes before he lowered his head and leaned in. He was going to kiss her lips. My lips. I gripped the door handle, ready to jump out of the car and stop them, when her face turned and she gave him her cheek instead. She slid the key into the door as he walked back down towards his car. Once she was inside the house and he was down the street I kicked my car door open. I wasn’t planning on getting out of the car and going to her. I needed to steer clear of her. But I couldn’t stay away. Not when she was seeing someone else.
    I took the steps two at a time, my hands balled into tight fists as I rapped on the door. My breathing grew choppy as she yanked the door back. The light from the living room shone in the doorway, but her bright eyes and smile faded as she looked at me.
    “Haas . . .” Her voice was barely audible.
    As though her body wanted to drown in my misery, her eyelids lowered to half-mast; her head bowed to me. The Dom in me, the one I never knew lived deep in my soul, begged to reign free and claim her.
    To punish her for looking at another man with those eyes.

Braelynn
    I had managed to have a pleasant night with barely any thoughts of Haas invading my head.
    Once the game was over, Landon and I walked to a Starbucks around the corner from MSG. I didn’t want our night to end. He was the perfect gentleman, even walking me to my door when he dropped me off. But when he leaned in to kiss me, I’d only wished for Haas’s lips. It was pointless to long for someone who had walked out of my life, dragging my heart through the filthy streets